Effects of dipole tilt angle on geomagnetic activity

The relationship between the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), represented by the clock angle which is the angle defined by IMF-B_y and -B_z components, and the AL and AU indices is examined at various dipole tilt angles for the period of 1978-1988. We use the IMF data obtained from the IMP 8 satellite, AL and AU indices with corrected seasonal variations, and the dipole tilt angle, which is the dipole magnetic latitude of the subsolar point calculated as a function of the day of year and universal time. For both positive (dipole tilted to the Sun) and negative dipole tilt angles, the values of |AL| and AU decrease as the IMF clock angle moves away from 180^°, becoming more northward. The indices also tend to become smaller for larger dipole tilt angle, either toward or away from the Sun. This dependence on dipole tilt angle enhances the semiannual variation of geomagnetic activity.     

Influence of the Variations of Current Sheet Parameters on the Acceleration of Electrons

By the test particle method, we have investigated the kinematic characteristics of the electrons in the reconnecting current sheet with a guiding magnetic field B_z after they are accelerated by the supper-Dreicer electric field E_z. Firstly, the influence of the guiding magnetic field B_z on the particle acceleration is discussed under the assumption that B_z is constant in magnitude but different in orientation with respect to the electric field. In this case, the variation of the B_z direction directly leads to the variation of electron trajectories and makes electrons leave the current sheet along different paths. If B_z is parallel to E_z, the pitch angles of the accelerated electrons are close to 180°. If B_z is anti-parallel to E_z, the pitch angles of the accelerated electrons are close to 0°. The orientation of the guiding magnetic field just makes the electric field accelerate selectively the electrons in different regions, but does not change the energy distribution of electrons, and the finally derived energy spectrum is the common power-law spectrum E^?γ. In typical coronal conditions, γ is about 2.9. The further study indicates that the magnitude of γ depends on the strengths of the guiding magnetic field and reconnecting electric field, as well as the scale of the current sheet. Then, the kinematic characteristics of the accelerated electrons in the current sheet with multiple X-points and O-points are also studied. The result indicates that the existences of the X-points and O-points have the particles constrained in the accelerating region to obtain the maximum acceleration, and the final energy spectrum has the characteristics of multi-power law spectra.     

Response of the polar cap boundary and the current system to changes in IMF observed from the Magsat satellite in the southern hemisphere during summer

The magnetic field vector residuals observed from the Magsat satellite have been used to obtain the dependence of the polar cap boundary and the current system on IMF for quiet and mildly disturbed conditions (K_p ⩽ 3 +). The study has been carried out for the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere. “Shear reversals” (SRs) in vector residuals indicative of the infinite current sheet approximation of the field-aligned currents (FACs) indicate roughly the polar cap boundary or the poleward boundary of the plasma sheet. This is also the poleward edge of the region 1 FACs. The SR is defined to occur at the latitude where the vector goes to minimum and changes direction by approximately 180°.It is found that SRs mainly occur when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has a southward-directed B_z- component and in the latitude range of about 70°–80°. SRs in the dusk sector occur predominantly when the azimuthal component B_y is positive and in the dawn sector when B_y is negative, irrespective of the sign of B_z These results agree with the known merging process of IMF with magnetopause field lines. When SRs occur on both dawn and dusk sectors, the residuals over the entire polar cap are nearly uniform in direction and magnitude, indicating negligible polar currents. Similar behaviour is observed during highly disturbed conditions usually associated with large negative values of B_z.Forty-one Magsat orbits with such SRs are quantitatively modelled for preliminary case studies of the resulting current distribution. It is found that SRs, in the plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field, for the current vectors and the magnetic vector residuals (perturbations relative to the unperturbed field) occur at almost the same latitudes. The electrojet intensities range from 1.2 × 10⁴ to 6.5 × 10⁵ A (amperes). A preliminary classification of polar cap boundary crossings characterized by vector rotations rather than SRs also shows that they tend to occur mainly for negative B_z.     

The motion and magnetic structure of the plasma sheet near 30RE

Data taken by the NASA-GSFC magentometer aboard the Explorer 34 satellite are analysed in an effort ascertain the average motion and magnetic field structure of the plasma sheet near 30RE. We find that the flapping motion of the plasma sheet in the solar ecliptic Z-coordinate is characterized by a typical speed of 90 km/sec and an amplitude of ±2RE. Results suggest that there exists a layer of nearly uniform cross-tail current density in the central region of the plasma sheet approx 2· 3-2· 6RE thick within which the solar-magnetospheric X-component of the magnetic field changes from 10γ to ? 10γ. Near the centre of the plasma sheet, the average value of the Z-component of the field is 2γ. The analysis does not suggest a strong dependence of the magnetic-field configuration on K_p.     

Auroral boundary variations and the interplanetary magnetic field

This paper describes a DMSP data set of 150 auroral images during magnetically quiet times which have been analyzed in corrected geomagnetic local time and latitudinal coordinates and fit to offset circles. The fit parameters R (circle radius) and (X, Y) (center location) have been compared to the hourly interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) prior to the time of the satellite scan of the aurora. The results for variation of R with B_z, agree with previous works and generally show about a 1° increase of R with increase of southward B_z by 1 nT. The location of the circle center also has a clear statistical shift in the Southern Hemisphere with IMF B_y such that the southern polar cap moves towards dusk (dawn) with B_y > (B_y < 0).     

A Nonlinear Force-Free Magnetic Field Approximation Suitable for Fast Forward-Fitting to Coronal Loops. I. Theory

We derive an analytical approximation of nonlinear force-free magnetic field solutions (NLFFF) that can efficiently be used for fast forward-fitting to solar magnetic data, constrained either by observed line-of-sight magnetograms and stereoscopically triangulated coronal loops, or by 3D vector-magnetograph data. The derived NLFFF solutions provide the magnetic field components B _x (x), B _y (x), B _z (x), the force-free parameter α(x), the electric current density j(x), and are accurate to second-order (of the nonlinear force-free α-parameter). The explicit expressions of a force-free field can easily be applied to modeling or forward-fitting of many coronal phenomena.     

A simulation study of distortion of the heliospheric sheet caused by solar activity

During major geomagnetic storms, the interplanetary magnetic field angle φ (phi) changes often abruptly, either from 135° to 315° or 315° to 135°, suggesting that the heliospheric current sheet is pushed upward or downward by disturbed solar wind. The distortion of the heliospheric current sheet by three successive solar flares is simulated to show that such a flapping motion can occur.     

On the distribution of By in the geomagnetic tail

The distribution of B_y in the geomagnetic tail associated with a net cross-tail magnetic flux, recently experimentally discovered, is here investigated within the framework of two-dimensional but non-planar field adiabatic time-independent equilbria. It is found that the flux distribution is controlled by the pressure anisotropy of the plasma, B_y being enhanced at the current sheet centre relative to that in the lobes for P_∥>P_⊥ and vice-versa for P_⊥>P_∥. For P_⊥>P_∥ a broad region of depressed field strength is found across the centre plane of the current sheet, terminated at its outer boundaries by spikes in the perpendicular current, across which B_y and B_x are “switched on” and rapidly increase towards their values in the low-β lobes. For P_∥>P_⊥ a thin high-current density layer forms at the sheet centre if the marginal firehose condition is approached, across which the B_x field reverses by rotation at nearly constant magnitude about the z-axis. The field magnitude in this thin layer depends upon the pressure anisotropy, such that the plasma remains just firehose stable within it, and may approach an appreciable fraction of the lobe field strength even for moderate anisotropies. Such structures have been observed in the geomagnetic tail, but do not appear to be a common feature of the quiet-time plasmasheet, where the field strength at the centre plane can reach small values with little obvious enhancement of B_y. In terms of the present model these observations require that either P_⊥>P_∥ in the quiet-time tail or that the plasma is within one or two per cent of isotropy if P_∥>P_⊥. These results then indicate that the production of plasma pressure anisotropy during adiabatic inward transport towards the Earth, which is generally expected to lead to P_∥>P_⊥ and its destruction by either macroscopic or microscopic processes, requires further study.     

Local time asymmetry in the characteristics of Pc5 magnetic pulsations

The wave characteristics of Pc5 magnetic pulsations are analyzed with data of OGO-5, ISEE-1 and -2 satellites. The toroidal modes (δB_D >δB_H) of Pc5 pulsations are observed at a higher magnetic latitude in the dawnside outer magnetosphere. The compressional and poloidal modes (δB_z.dfnc; ～ δB_H >δB_D) of Pc5 pulsations are mostly observed near the magnetic equator in the duskside outer magnetosphere. This L.T. asymmetry in the occurrence of dominant modes of Pc5's in space can be explained by the velocity shear instability (Yumoto and Saito, 1980) in the magnetospheric boundary layer, where Alfvénic signals in the IMF medium are assumed to penetrate into the magnetospheric boundary layer along the Archimedean spiral. The asymmetrical behaviour of Pc5 pulsation activity on the ground across the noon meridian can be also explained by the ionospheric screening effect on the compressional Pc5 magnetic pulsations. The compressional modes with a large horizontal wave number in the duskside magnetosphere are expected to be suppressed on the ground throughout the ionosphere and atmosphere.     

Rigidity Dependence of the Long-Term Variations of Galactic Cosmic-Ray Intensity in Relation to the Interplanetary Magnetic-Field Turbulence: 1968 – 2002

We studied the relationship between the power-law exponent γ on the rigidity R of the spectrum of galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) intensity variation (δD(R)/D(R)∝R ^?γ ) and the exponents ν _y and ν _z of the power spectral density (PSD) of the B _y and B _z components of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turbulence (PSD～f ^?ν , where f is the frequency). We used the data from neutron monitors and IMF for the period of 1968?–?2002. The exponents ν _y and ν _z were calculated in the frequency interval Δf=f ₂?f ₁=3×10^?6 Hz of the resonant frequencies (f ₁=1×10^?6 Hz, f ₂=4×10^?6 Hz) that are responsible for the scattering of GCR particles with the rigidity range detected by neutron monitors. We found clear inverse correlations between γ and ν _y or ν _z when the time variations of the resonant frequencies were derived from in situ measurements of the solar wind velocity U _sw and IMF strength B during 1968?–?2002. We argue that these inverse relations are a fundamental feature in the GCR modulation that is not restricted to the analyzed years of 1968?–?2002.     

The effect of a normal magnetic field component on current sheet stability

A $\text{2}\text{2}\text{5}\text{-}\text{dimensional}$ particle-mesh computer model for the simulation of the current-sheet region of the geomagnetic tail is described. Important features are (a) the use of Fast Fourier techniques for the efficient solution of Ampere's equation, (b) the incorporation of sources and sinks of particles, (c) facilities for simulating finite width effects and (d) the option of including a normal magnetic field component linking through the sheet.Simulations carried out using this model indicate that current sheets with a non-zero normal magnetic field component and an infinite width are stable. The particles trace out Speiser-like orbits in such a case. Sheets with B_normal = 0 and a finite width are unstable with respect to the ion tearing-mode instability. However the presence of a normal magnetic field stabilises the system provided ρ₀<2L_y where ρ₀ is the characteristic length associated with the normal field and where L_y is the width of the sheet.On the basis of these results it is suggested that a geomagnetic substorm occurs when the normal magnetic field drops below the critical value needed for stability.     

Jovian plasma sheet morphology: particle and field observations by the Galileo spacecraft

We present results from an investigation of the plasma sheet encounter signatures observed in the Jovian magnetosphere by the Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) and Magnetometer (MAG) onboard the Galileo spacecraft. Maxima in ion flux were used to identify over 500 spacecraft encounters with the plasma sheet between radial distances from Jupiter from 20 to 140R_J during the first 25 orbits (4 years of data). Typical signatures of plasma sheet encounters show a characteristic periodicity of either 5 or 10 hours that is attributed to an oscillation in the relative distance between the spacecraft and the plasma sheet that arises from the combination of planetary rotation and offset magnetic and rotational axes. However, the energetic particle and field data also display much variability, including instances of intense fluxes having little to no periodicity that persist for several Jovian rotation periods. Abrupt changes in the mean distance between the plasma sheet and the spacecraft are suggested to account for some of the transitions between typical flux periodicities associated with plasma sheet encounters. Additional changes in the plasma sheet thickness and/or amplitude of the plasma sheet displacement from the location of the spacecraft are required to explain the cases where the periodicity breaks down but fluxes remain high. These changes in plasma sheet characteristics do not display an obvious periodicity; however, the observations suggest that dawn/dusk asymmetries in both the structure of the plasma sheet and the frequency of anomalous plasma sheet encounters are present. Evidence of a thin, well-ordered plasma sheet is found out to 110R_J in the dawn and midnight local time sectors, while the dusk magnetosphere is characterized by a thicker, more disordered plasma sheet and has a potentially more pronounced response to an impulsive trigger. Temporal variations associated with changing solar wind conditions are suggested to account for the anomalous plasma sheet encounters there.     

Some properties of the current sheet in the geomagnetic tail

The topic of this report is that of the influence of noise, and of the finite length and width of the tail on the behaviour of the current sheet.The presence of a weak magnetic field linking through the current sheet leads to plasma containment and counterstreaming, with the consequence that both the plasma temperature and density are increased in the vicinity of the current sheet. The effect of these changes on the relationship between steady bulk parameters is discussed.The finite length of the tail significantly modifies the equilibrium situation in the near Earth tail, for streams mirroring at the Earthwards end of field lines lead to a reduction of merging. The finite width of the tail restricts the region of reduced merging rate to a triangular shaped area extending from the dusk magnetopause into the tail. The finite tail width is also important in the more distant tail, where magnetosheath particles which penetrate the magnetopause ends of the current sheet may become major current carriers, especially if B_z, is small and northwards.Finally, it is shown that the above factors, together with a non-adiabatic current sheet, are important to our understanding of the temporal behaviour of the tail.     

Model for the onset of a magnetospheric substorm

In view of observations which show that a substorm often begins in a small local time sector, a model is assumed in which the neutral sheet current is diverted around a small region we call a bubble. The simplest assumption is that of a linear variation of current with distance from the centre of the bubble in the x-direction in a SM coordinate system, with the diverted current being channelled within narrow paths of width δ_y on the dawn and dusk sides of the bubble. This assumption leads to vector potential integrals that can be evaluated analytically. The addition of this current loop into the magnetotail results in a magnetic field structure where new neutral lines of X- and 0-type can be observed; these are connected to each other as a continuous neutral ring in the xy equatorial plane. The magnetic and electric field components around the neutral regions are calculated, and the time dependent evolution of the neutral ring is studied. Comparison with some published satellite observations shows good agreement. Taking typical values for the various quantities on the basis of actual observations within the magnetotail, we show that the induced electric field is at least comparable to the average cross-tail electrostatic field, and it may well be one or two orders of magnitude greater. The response of the plasma to the induction field is discussed qualitatively. It is concluded that field aligned currents may be produced due to inertial forces of the expanding disturbance. Interpretation of the ground based precipitation patterns of energized particles during auroral breakup is given.     

On the stationary configuration of the heliospheric sheet

The expansion of solar coronal plasma is considered for the model described in Koutchmy et al. (1999). In addition to a spherical solar surface, the initial configuration represents a heliospheric sheet of dense plasma in the dipole equatorial plane. The heliospheric-sheet current decreases with distance as 1/r ², with its sign being opposite to the sign of the initial-dipole current. The latter follows from the fact that the plasma sheet is denser than the surrounding corona and that the equilibrium condition for the sheet in the gravitational and magnetic fields is satisfied. The field lines of this configuration are nearly straight. We have obtained a general solution of the steady-state MHD equations, which depends not only on distance r but also on latitude θ. Applicability of the solution to interpreting observational data, in particular, those obtained from the Ulysses spacecraft, is discussed.     

Flapping motions of the tail plasma sheet induced by the interplanetary magnetic field variations

Flapping motions of the magnetotail with an amplitude of several earth radii are studied by analysing the observations made in the near (x = ?25 ~ ?30 R_E and the distant (x? ?60 R_E) tail regions. It is found that the flapping motions result from fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field, especially Alfvénic fluctuations, when the magnitude of the interplanetary magnetic field is larger than ~10 γ and they propagate behind the Earth with the solar wind flow. Flappings tend to be observed in early phases of the magnetospheric substorm, and they have two fundamental modes with periods of ~200 and ~500 sec. In some limited cases a good correspondence with the long period micropulsations (Pc5) in the polar cap region is observed. These observational results are explained by the model in which the Alfvénic fluctuations in the solar wind penetrate into the magnetosphere along the connected interplanetary-magnetospheric field lines. The characteristics of the flapping reveal that the geomagnetic tail is a good resonator for the hydromagnetic disturbances in the solar wind.     

Observation of an IMF sector effect in the Y magnetic field component at geostationary orbit

One year of magnetic field data from the geostationary spacecraft ATS 6 have been analysed for effects associated with the equatorial plane components of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). It is shown that perturbation fields in the Y (dawn to dusk) direction appear in association with the Y component of the IMF, in agreement with previous theoretical suggestions. On average a fraction 0.28 ± 0.02 of the IMF Y field appears at geostationary orbit, such that the average ATS 6 B_y field is 1.9 ± 0.4 nT larger when IMF B_y is positive than when it is negative. The perturbation field magnitudes are also found to depend strongly on local time, however, with largest effects appearing in the midnight and dawn quadrants, where the average perturbation fields are nearly half the simultaneous IMF B_v. field. At noon this fraction drops to one fifth, and no average effect occurs in the dusk quadrant. Both the daily mean perturbation fields and the diurnal modulation are also found to depend upon the level of magnetic disturbance as measured by K_P, or equivalently upon IMF B_z, and upon season of the year. Overall stronger daily mean perturbation fields occur when K_P is low or when IMF B_z is positive, than when K_P is high or when IMF B_z is negative. This effect is not linear, however, and there is also a trend in the data towards increasing perturbation fields with IMF B_z negative and decreasing. On dividing the data according to season, increasingly strong daily mean effects are found in the order winter, summer and equinox for both quiet and disturbed magnetospheres. Diurnal modulations of the perturbation field magnitudes for low K_P (IMF B_z > 0) take the form of large amplitude quasi-sinusoidal variations about mean values which are very marked in the equinox data, are present to a lesser degree during summer and are absent during winter conditions. When K_p is high (IMF B_z < 0) significant deviations from mean perturbation field values occur generally only during nightside hours and little seasonal dependence is evident. Finally, it is shown that the highest correlation between the IMF data and the ATS 6 perturbation fields occurs with zero time delay between the two data sets, showing that a prompt response to IMF conditions occurs at geostationary orbit within the 1 h time resolution available in this study. Although many details of the above ATS 6 response remain to be understood, these results overall demonstrate in a very direct manner the magnetically “open” nature of the Earth's magnetosphere.     

Dependence of the geometry of the region of open field lines on the interplanetary magnetic field

The geometry of the open flux area in the polar region is computed by superposing a uniform interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with various orientation angles to a model of the magnetosphere. It is confirmed that the IMF B_y component is as important as the B_z component in “opening” the magnetosphere. It is also shown that the computed area of open field lines is remarkably similar to the observed ones which were determined by using the entry of solar electrons. In particular, when the IMF vector is confined in the X-Z-plane and the B_z component has a large positive value, the open area becomes crescent-shaped, coinciding approximately with the cusp region.     

Time-dependent configuration changes of the magnetotail and plasma sheet thinning

The configuration of the magnetotail magnetic field has been calculated for a situation where a disruption of a portion of the tail current system develops. The decrease of the current in a localized region of the magnetotail leads to a collapse of the magnetic field in that vicinity. The calculated configuration of the field resembles what is predicted by reconnection models with the field lines moving toward the neutral sheet and then connecting and either moving toward or away from the earth. Associated with this changing magnetic field there is an induced electric field which will then influence the motion of the plasma in the magnetotail via E × B drifts.When the current from X_sm = ?20 to ?40 R_E in the tail is decreasing with a tune-constant of 0.5 h the electric field produced, which is primarily westward, has a maximum value of 0.83 mV m^?1 and produces plasma sheet thinning velocities of 0.3 km s^?1. Higher velocities result for more rapid rates of current decrease, and they agree well with experimental observations. The plasma flows in the sunward direction are, however, much smaller than what has been observed. This is due in part to the inability of the magnetic field model to adequately represent the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the neutral sheet. Use of an improved model would give better agreement with the observations.The calculations show that the induced electric field of a time-dependent magnetic field is able to explain certain observed features of the plasma sheet motions. Also, this agreement suggests that the assumption that there is no charge separation contribution to the electric field may be reasonable during situations of large scale and rapid current disruptions in the magnetotail.